Trump admin issues new policy aimed at ending transgender-related care in federal prisons
"It's a really dangerous policy,” an ACLU lawyer representing trans people in federal prison suing the Trump administration tells Law Dork of the new Bureau of Prisons policy.
More than a year after the Trump administration was first sued over its anti-transgender prison policies, the Justice Department showed up in court Thursday morning with a new policy that would bar needed surgeries for trans people in federal prisons, require “tapering plans” for those receiving hormone therapy, and end “social” accommodations like gender-appropriate clothing.
The new “program statement“ from the Federal Bureau of Prisons would cause “serious harms,” Leslie Cooper, the deputy director of the ACLU LGBT & HIV Project and one of the lawyers in a challenge to the policy, told Law Dork. “It’s a really dangerous policy.”
The actions, which followed a prison-related directive in President Donald Trump’s January 20, 2025 executive order defining “sex,” have faced multiple challenges, all of which are now before U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, a Reagan appointee in D.C. Lamberth has blocked many of the anti-trans policies from going into effect with a classwide preliminary injunction that has now been in effect, a DOJ lawyer acknowledged, for more than 200 days.
The new policy could upend that — or at least be an effort to do so.
“Obviously we’re going to continue to fight and ensure that our preliminary injunction will continue to protect members of the class,” Cooper told Law Dork, noting that the last-minute production of the policy meant it was still being reviewed by the lawyers.
Beyond that, at Thursday’s hearing, plaintiffs also raised concerns about retaliation that some trans inmates have said they faced, including after being involved in and filing declarations in the case.
When Lamberth asked Jared Littman, the DOJ attorney defending BOP, about those allegations, Littman claimed there was no evidence of retaliation.
"How do you say there's no evidence?" Lamberth shot back, noting the “sworn affidavit” claiming retaliation that went unrebutted by DOJ.
"That is contempt of this court if that happened," Lamberth said, asking why there was no investigation of the claims before today.
Before close of business on Thursday, Lamberth issued the protective order sought by the plaintiffs — barring any further retaliation, requiring DOJ to provide written notice of the order to BOP wardens and class members within 14 days, and requiring DOJ to “file a written declaration detailing how this order was conveyed to staff and incarcerated people at all BOP facilities at which class members are incarcerated” within 30 days.
What is the new policy?
From the beginning, the stated “purpose” of the new policy is not to protect trans people or provide them with appropriate treatment, focusing solely on “recovery” from “gender dysphoria,” the medical diagnosis that regularly precedes gender-affirming treatment and medical care.
The definitions make clear the antipathy toward trans people, defining gender identity as follows:
Further mentions of gender identity are put in scare quotes — despite it being a defined term.
As to the substance of the order, it sets forth the basis of the policy as the Trump order, but then also claims that BOP is “adopt[ing] this policy independently of [the] Executive Order.”
Specially, it would not allow any surgery.
As to hormone therapy, it would not allow new hormone therapy.
It would require a “tapering plan“ for all others.
Even as to those who have had gender-affirming surgery and have been receiving hormone therapy for an “extended period,” the new policy would require “tapering plans“ to “be reevaluated regularly with respect to cessation of hormones.”
Finally, the new policy “will not provide social accommodations,“ including gender-appropriate clothing; will “no longer provide” such accommodations; and “remove or confiscate“ such accommodations “when practicable.“
On Thursday afternoon, Lamberth ordered that the administrative record for this new policy be filed in the case within 21 days.
Pure vindictiveness.
This is all part of the long term plan to erase the existence of transgender folks, who are not going anywhere and have been with us as long as humans have existed. It's one of the more evil aspects of Project 2025, and Kevin Roberts has publicly stated that his goal is to use the law to remove all support for transgender people. I have trans family members and this is deeply enraging for me and the rest of my family and friends who are so supportive of this vulnerable community. My trans family members have been traumatized by this administration and I will never forgive the Republican Party for enabling and even encouraging this sickness.